“I got this pair of Marathon Plus tyres for my new bike after the original equipment El Cheapo back tyre only lasted one ride and the shops did not have any of the green Marathon or original Marathon tyres in stock. The "bike paths" I ride on my daily commute are very rough and littered with rubbish inluding broken glass of course. I have used Schwalbe Marathon and Schwalbe Durano tyres for the past 15 years and I have NEVER ever suffered a puncture while using them so I had high hopes for the Marathon Plus tyres. Prior to that I used Conti tyres and they did a good job of not getting punctured ( and a much better job than anything else I had used before them ) but they would suffer punctures quite regularly. I was expecting the Marathon Plus to be overkill but, you guessed it, after 3000 km my back tyre suffered a puncture due to a sliver of broken glass that worked its way into a groove on the tread and then made its way through to the tube. Due to the excellent run I had with Schwalbe products before that I did not even carry tools, repair kits or spare tubes with me. Now my faith has been shattered and I am back to a miserable life of fixing punctures.
Other than that experience the Marathon Plus tyres are very solid and hard wearing. I weigh a lot, my bike weighs a lot and my gear is also heavy so the tyres definitely get tested every time I ride. The Marathon Plus tyres give a faily smooth ride and I'm happy about that. They don't have as much rolling resistance as I thought they would. They were easy to put on and take off at first but following the puncture the tyre was near impossible to get off. Is it the colder weather causing that? When I first got the tyres the weather was nice and warm here and it was about 40C in my lockup every day. The tyres seem to have a lot of grip but they squirm around in tight corners. Running more pressure in them helps a lot and they are surprisingly plush even at maximum rated pressure. The tyres are good on gravel and dirt roads. I don't think they are worth the extra expense compared to the Plain Jane Marathon tyres so I wont get the Marathon Plus tyres again.”
